jujube

Pokemon: Storm

As the library closed and their history lesson finished, and Indigo was ushered out with Margo, the orang red gradient of the setting sun stretched out across the horizon. There weren't many hours of daylight left.

"Let's see where we can go next," Indigo fished out his pokedex, tapping the screen until he came to the region map. "Hmm... Zanna's connected to Shamba and Jimmal City." Closing in on the unfamiliar destination, he scanned the description. "Oldest city in Septoh. And it's... spiritual?" Those words were enough to get him to completely miss the other mentions of rising crime. Had he seen those statistics, he may have changed his mind about going. Fortunately or unfortunately however, he didn't.

"Jimmal sounds cool," he said, snapping his pokedex shut. "It's definitely a hike around Winding Pass. Kinda wish we had those flying pokemon right about now, right?" He quirked an eyebrow at Margo. "Says it takes ten hours to walk. We'll probably have to camp, but maybe we'll find some people or pokemon who'll give us a ride or something... Maybe some food... Oh right, the old man gave us some snacks."

Removing the pouch from his belt, he procured two simple sandwiches. With plenty of leafy greens, hearty thick seeded bread, and a rich slab of cheese in the middle, it was the perfect, filling snack to give him and Margo energy. "Surprised these even kept so long... That was good. Right? Oh yeah, he said not to throw away the bags... Guess I'll keep it on me."

He squared his shoulders. "Ready to go?"

Pokémon: Start

Valen

@PlatinumSkink

---

It all seemed too hopeless for Valen. He just wasn't sure what to do. The man seemed to be reaching for another pokeball at his belt and it was everything Valen could do to keep himself together. What do I do?

"Qwerty, I'm sorry," he sniffed, feeling the situation overwhelm him. Why had he ever thought he could handle anything like this? He returned his Porygon, shoulders heavy with regret. This was only the second day of his journey. Who would have ever known something like this would happen?

Looking at the villains in front of him, he raised his hands. "Look, I'm just a newbie trainer. I started yesterday. I didn't mean any harm. If I come with you, will you leave everyone else alone?" There was no need to get the others involved. This was his mess, and it was up to him to take care of it.

Pokemon

Qwerty the Porygon lvl 9

[ Sharpen, Tackle, Conversion, Conversion2, Psybeam ]

Basilisk "Basil" The Snivy lvl 7

[Tackle, Vine Whip, Leer]

Inventory

3500p
Potion x1
Pokeball*5

Actions

Actions: Valen's giving up since he doesn't know what else to do.

Pokemon: Storm

@Balthazar007 yeah, I loved it too! I love how creative they were with the pokemon in the settings. The Torterra garden was amazing, and the Loudred doing dubstep were hilarious. That said, the plot was a little convoluted and over the top, but seeing pokemon in this urban fantasy and depicted so realistically was just great to see. Bulbasaur was so so so cute!

I hope the reply was okay! Please let me know if I need to add anything more!

Pokemon: Storm

The old library was quiet, calm, though just a tad unsettling too. Perhaps it was just the fact that it was a new place, or maybe there was a secret the library was hiding around it's corridors or under the floorboards. In any case, Indigo followed along with Margo, exploring the various nooks and aisles. But there was something deliberate in the way they moved, whether they realized it or not.

It wasn't apparent at first. Indigo thought he was following Margo initially. But at some point he side-stepped her and--surprisingly--found himself knowing where to go. What and where the end result would be was far from clear, but Indy found himself pacing with more and more certainty towards whatever it was. They had their breaks-- flipping through books and picking up random tidbits of information here and there, but the urge to climb the floors of the library resonated stronger with each story they passed.

When they finally reached the top, Indigo lost the sense of direction he had before. But I... Was that a trick? I thought I was feeling something before..., he looked around the floor with Margo. Once again they weaved through the shelves, and while there were a plethora of interesting titles, nothing quite seemed to satisfy their curiosity. Feeling defeated, Indigo looked all around them with dissapointment. Was he crazy? Probably. Margo didn't seem very deterred however.

"I'll admit, this place is... Interesting," Indigo admitted while peering over the railing. "It's the weirdest thing-- I thought we were like, being called or something. I know it's crazy. This has been an insane day." Just as he finished, the huge tree in the center of the library seemed to move.

No, it was moving. One of the barren branches was extending towards them. Absolutely dumbfounded, Indigo could only exchange a bewildered glance with Margo and stumble back. Was anyone else seeing this? He looked around wildly. But the process was quick, and sooner than later a beautiful blossom with a book in its center flourished before them.

Margo was quick and delicate, swiftly obtaining the book before Indigo could say a word.

"I'll say. Did that really just happen?" Indigo's voice nearly shook. Had their encounter with Ho-oh had something to do with this? He gave Margo a glance before gently opening the book. The pages were blank, even as Indigo flipped through them. "No author or date or title, no words at all," he muttered, though what would they have expected really? "D'you think... Ho-oh had anything to do with this?" A nervous, unsure smile fluttered on his features. After the initial fear and surprise, the fact that a book had just blossomed out of a tree was beginning to sink in and it felt amazing. What mysteries did these bound pages contain? And how lucky were they, that this fantastic tome had just appeared out of thin air?

Zanna Town had some amazing secrets after all.

"What do we do next?" Indigo asked Margo. "Do you think we should tell anyone..." His words trailed off. Who would believe them? "Maybe we can ask the librarian about this tree... But not tell them anything, just ask, you know. I feel like we're gonna look crazy if we say this book came from out of nowhere." Shutting the book, he waited until Margo had it safely secured in her backpack. "Let's go ask."

Arriving back to the first floor entrance, Indigo spotted the librarian soon. "Excuse me, sir?" He made his way over. "Just wondering... Do you know anything about this tree here?" He pointed to the massive, dark brown trunk not far away from them. "When they built this library, did they build it around this tree or..?"

@Balthazar007

Pokemon: Storm

@Balthazar007my apologies!!! This week has been sooo busy. Im working on a reply right now haha. For the next two weeks im still catching up with friends and family, so the replies may be every 3 days. I apologize for that! But your post was awesome and ill have a reply up soon! Did you see detective pikachu btw?

Pokemon: Storm

@Balthazar007 okay! Take your time. I really like how you provide these world reactions to our characters actions. Really makes it feel immersive!

Pokemon: Storm

@Balthazar007was there anything else we could do in zanna town?? Just wondering! :)

Pokemon: Storm

So sorry for the long wait!!! Since school ended, ive been cstching up on family, friends, and just living it up in general haha. Im sorry i didnt post sooner!

Pokemon: Storm

Zanna Town upon first glance looked old, decrepit even, with its lack of shops or anything to do. There were hardly any houses, and the place seemed practically empty. But then there were things that stuck out, like researchers gathered around monuments, or some well dressed tourists posing by some sort of crumbling stone building. What Zanna Town lacked in attractions and business, it made up for in culture and history. Had Zanna been a person, it would have probably been some old, mysterious mage with great tales to tell from more powerful days.

Indigo was silent as he walked by Margo, still processing what had happened. As they came upon the library though, he did utter a "woah." The sheer way the building imposed on them was impressive enough, the detailed architectures was enough to bring tears to any scholar's eyes, but in the middle of the library grew a huge tree. The thick trunk which sprung up, though devoid of any foliage, still looked ready to bloom when the time came.

"This place is pretty cool," Indy whispered to Margo. As they were glancing about, the kindly librarian must have noticed their puzzled stares and unsure glances. After producing some pamphlets, she asked them what they were looking for.

Indigo exchanged a glance with Margo. "Maybe... a place with some old texts about legendary pokemon?" It was true that they could have looked up the information online, but the internet was filled with rifts of misinformation, any of which could make them fall down rabbit holes of wasted time and effort.

Besides, they were here, and Indigo wanted to at least indulge in the experience of going through some old books, just to say he'd had the whole Zanna Town experience.

Pokémon: Start

Valen

@PlatinumSkink

---

The entire scene was happening too fast and too slow for Valen, ludicrous as it sounded. The pokemon battle, the other trainers coming in, it was all flying by. How was he supposed to react? At the same time, he was keenly aware of his heartbeat thudding in his chest, the words that people were saying seemed slowed down the point they were garbled. "My name?" He muttered. He couldn't think. Phobia closed around his throat and gut. If the heat of the situation didn't kill him, his lack of remembering to breathe properly would.

He couldn't answer. That was too dangerous, wasn't it? He had just come from Highhill, and Valen wasn't a particularly common name. If he did manage to get away from these thugs by some miracle, they'd be able to go and ask around for him. And then--would more people get involved? The rivulets of sweat dripped down his face. It was hardly even a hot day, but the temperature seemed to be rising all the same.

Ultimately, Valen was grateful for the trainers, but there was too much going in front of him to support their intervening. He felt guilty too--why couldn't he handle this on his own? He was getting other people involved and couldn't that make the situation worse? He only hoped they could make it out safe.

I have to try... "Qwerty try to dodge it! Keep your distance and use Psybeam!" Bite was probably going to hurt but perhaps there were ways to mitigate it. Valen gritted his teeth as Qwerty attempted to float higher than the Growlithe's range, beak aglow with a preparing Psybeam.

Pokemon

Qwerty the Porygon lvl 9

[ Sharpen, Tackle, Conversion, Conversion2, Psybeam ]

Basilisk "Basil" The Snivy lvl 7

[Tackle, Vine Whip, Leer]

Inventory

3500p
Potion x1
Pokeball*5

Actions

Actions: too flustered and too panicked to communicate properly, he's just trying to focus on the battle at hand and get out alive. Not sure if I have the choice of making this a quick battle or not? But I guess he's just going to try to keep his distance and use Psybeam. If the Growlith uses Ember, he'll use conversion2. If it has to be a long battle, disregard this then :P apologies for any errors, I had to write this on my phone!